christie is one of mitt romney's top surrogates. he was also the keynote speaker at the republican national convention this summer. with a natural disaster, it's natural for party lines to be plurred. on nbc news christie offered up praise for the president. >> the president has been outstanding in this, he has expedited the designation of new jersey as a major disaster area. >>reporter: vice president joe biden says he'll resume campaigning today. >> assuming things continue as they are, we're going to resume our schedule in florida as scheduled. >>reporter: mitt romney will also stump in the sunshine state, swinging through jacksonville, taryp and coral gables -- tampa and coral gables. his running mate paul ryan plans appearances today in wisconsin and thursday in colorado. both campaigns are trying to make up ground after having to take time off due to hurricane sandy. what we know so far is that mitt romney will return to virginia on thursday after canceling events there over the weekend. in washington, i'm torre dunham, back t